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<title>You're going to learn to fly in this world by Queerlilfella</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25271422">You're going to learn to fly in this world</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queerlilfella/pseuds/Queerlilfella'>Queerlilfella</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family Feels, Fluff, M/M, Sass, cursing, immortal husbands and their immortal daughter, slight angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:07:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,326</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25271422</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queerlilfella/pseuds/Queerlilfella</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Still learning to cope with immortality, Nile struggles with the concept of letting go of her old and joining her new family.<br/>But she doesn't have to do that alone, either.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Andy | Andromache of Scythia &amp; Nile Freeman &amp; Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani &amp; Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>239</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You're going to learn to fly in this world</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was hard for Nile, especially so in the beginning- getting used to this new, long life took its time. All these adventures she would go on, no one to share them with. The knowledge that her family would never get closure about what really happened to her. Neither would her friends. Some nights it seemed to hurt worse than any wound she'd been given in the last couple of months.<br/>They'd traveled from country to country, switching continents like it was nothing. There seemed to be a lot of old money behind it. Still she was lying in a dingy hotel bed- even now, with someone to erase their traces they were careful not to leave too many, so hotels without video surveillance were always welcome. She was listening for the others, could only hear calm breathing. With a silent sigh she got up, bare feet touching cool stone, walking over to the little balcony overlooking the city. She didn't even know what it was called, too many cities looking the same in too little time. "It takes time" Joe had assured her when she told him how confusing it was to go to so many places, that she didn't even know where they were right now. So many things seemed to take time now. Learning new languages, not leaving a trace of her existence, letting go of her old life, adjusting to the fast pace they were living in. She could almost feel herself burning out. Andy had assured her they'd all felt the same in the beginning, but seeing them now she couldn't imagine any of them struggling with this kind of life. They had always known an entirely different life than she had, so sometimes she felt misunderstood, like they weren't even trying to get what she was going through. Like they didn't understand her pain, the loss and mourning that came with her situation.<br/>Holding on to the railing she took a deep breath. The warm air didn't do much to calm her, but the scents of the city were reassuring. Spices, smoke from a bonfire far away. She was still alive.</p>
<p>Behind her, she heard shuffling. "You alright?" Nicky was wiping his face with his hand, hair standing in all directions. "Yeah" she said, turning back to the view over the city when he was standing beside her. "What's going on?" He asked "I feel like you're still hiding something, like stuff's still bothering you"<br/>That was another thing she'd noticed. The others were so open with each other- everyone knew everything about what was going on with the others. The love they each had seemed to go beyond the love you'd find in a family, and yet (with exception of Nicky and Joe) didn't seem to go further than platonic love.<br/>"I miss my family" she said, quietly, hating to admit that weakness of hers "And I feel so stupid about it." It was Nickys time to sigh. "It's not stupid, passerotta" He put his arm around her. "I know you feel like we don't understand you. And you're right- how could we? My family was long dead by the time I met Yusuf" Something else she'd gotten to know about them: a lot of times they called each other their original names, which made the whole thing appear so much more intimate. "Yusuf left his family knowing he'd never see them again. Andy had long forgotten her mother by the time she found us. Yusuf and I don't remember them anymore, at this point. But you-" He took a deep breath, pulling her close enough so she could put her head on his shoulder "Your wounds are still fresh, you're still learning to fly in this wide world, passerotta, and I know it's a harsh world out there. And it's not getting easier with time" She let out a snort "Very reassuring" she mumbled. "It's not getting easier- but you're going to get used to it, you're not going to let it get to you that much anymore. And you're going to have us to ground you, to come to when you're not feeling good or when you feel like things are getting too much, you know that, right?" She nodded. She did know that, but still she felt like she was intruding into something so very private, something she was afraid to break with her sheer presence. Hastily, she was wiping away a tear that escaped her eyes with her hand, pretending not to notice the way Nickys arm tightened around her even more.<br/>"He's right, you know?" She startled at the sudden voice behind her, turning to see Joe leaning on the doorway. "We've grown numb to this whole thing, but you- you're still innocent, learning what is out there. And it can be a lot. But we all love you, and we're only trying to do the best for you." "What is this, a 'try to make Nile cry'-fest?" She choked on her hoarse laugh. "You're not my parents, I'm not your responsibility." Joe sat down on a chair that seemed close to collapsing under his weight, chuckling to himself before answering. "But you are, the same way Andy and Nico are my responsibility, hell, even Booker. We are responsible for each other because we're all we have. So try to get used to this, because we're gonna stick around for a good while."</p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, Nile was trying to calm herself down. "Idiots" she muttered, laughing "You're always making me cry when we talk about stuff like that." They were laughing too- "That's because you're too sensitive" "I'm pretty sure it's because you're assholes." She countered, tears and emotions nearly forgotten. "Aren't you supposed to respect your elders?" Nicky wondered. "Do I need to call you grandpa, then?" "Oooooohhh, Nico, you need some Aloe for that?" Joe held his hand up for Nile to meet in a high five. "I never should've shown you how to use the internet for entertainment" Nicky grumbled, a tiny smile ghosting his lips.<br/>"You really can't let me sleep through at least once, can you?" Andy came out onto the balcony in her pajamas, looking at the way they were sat around the small table. "Well, where would be the fun in that?" She simply rolled her eyes. "You're right, but that's easy for you to say- you're immortal, after all." Niles eyes went wide, breath stuck in her throat. Nicky and Joe simply laughed "Like your mortality would keep you from anything" Nicky looked at Nile, who still looked like she would collapse from shock any second. "Don't look that scandalized, you know she'd rather get drunk eight nights a week than get a full nights sleep" Andy shrugged, turning to go back inside: "Wine, anyone?" Nile shook her head; what even were those people? Nicky seemed to read her thoughts. "At some point you just stop questioning things like that." "Let me guess" Nile asked, deadpan: "It gets easier with time?" Joe turned to Nicky: "When Andy told us she was going to fit right in, I didn't think it would be like this?" "You getting bullied or you looking really old next to her?" asked Andy, coming back with a bottle and a couple glasses. "I quite clearly remember you having a meltdown over finding a grey hair a couple days back and begging us to remove it and never tell anyone" a smug looking Joe said "So you might wanna cool it with the sass." "I'm gonna have you know I've been a feared fighter for centuries now..." Nile watched the conversation unfold in front of her, her glass filling up to the brink, only stopping when Nicky motioned for her to hand the bottle over. How the fuck had they survived for so long without killing each other? Nile wondered, before realizing they probably had.<br/>This was going to be fun.</p>
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